The Return to Hogwarts

The vivid tattoo was crimson, and the snake in the skull's mouth was swaying its head slightly. Lucius's pupils were bloodshot. In the decades since the Dark Lord's fall from power, the Dark Mark had never been so active, even though it had indeed sent a burning sensation through it from time to time in recent months.

Whoops!

The wind that blew across the lake suddenly turned foul, dark clouds drifted down from the wilderness, and rows of exquisitely trimmed precious trees in the manor all bent over. The once peaceful Malfoy Manor was plunged into turmoil in the blink of an eye.

It's not an illusion.

The burning sensation in his arm grew clearer and clearer, shattering Lucius's last hope.

The Dark Lord is coming back? What should we do?

This question had been on Lucius's mind for quite some time. He knew this day would come, but he hadn't expected it to be so sudden.

Should he flee, or, like last time, faithfully follow behind that demon king for an idea he now understands is utterly absurd?

No. There is no choice but to escape. The Dark Lord and his fanatical followers will hunt the Malfoy family to the ends of the earth, and even Draco will not be spared!

It is permissible to follow his advice. The foolish mistake he made was that, in order to cause trouble for Dumbledore, he lost or damaged the treasure that the Dark Lord had personally entrusted to him and instructed him to keep safe, and that treasure was indeed what he thought it was.

The Dark Lord was never a magnanimous person. Even without Blaine's reminder, he knew very well that even if the Malfoy family were willing to continue following him, he might not accept it. He would definitely punish him in the most cruel way, not by killing, but by destroying him with despair. The Dark Lord would target Draco!

"He's summoning me."

Lucius was drenched in sweat, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. His eyes were wide with shock, and he ignored his wife's calls.

Lucius knew perfectly well that the Dark Lord was unreliable, but to at least protect Draco and Narcissa, he had no choice but to accept the olive branch extended by Blaine, and the price was—

"He's summoning me."

Lucius, panting, said again,

"I'm going to write to Blaine, and the letter must be delivered to him immediately!"

"what?"

Narcissa was so disbelieving she thought she'd misheard; she couldn't understand why her husband would be thinking of writing to Blaine at this time!

"No time to explain!"

Lucius rolled up his sleeves, grabbed his wife's wrist, and ran wildly toward the house, ignoring the servants who rushed up to question them when they saw their panicked and disheveled appearance.

Lucius kicked open the study door and rushed to his seat without even catching his breath. His hands and feet trembled as he pulled out parchment and a quill. At the moment of putting pen to paper, Lucius paused for a second before the nib touched the paper.

"The Dark Lord has returned, and the Malfoy family is willing to follow you and become your eyes and ears."

A very simple sentence, followed by Lucius Malfoy's personal magic seal.

鈥滀汉鐖鐖搖殑鈥

Narcissa's voice trembled, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"You want...this is...this will become..."

"This is what Blaine wants."

Lucius's face turned pale, but his eyes were resolute. He quickly sealed the credit spell and then placed it in Narcissa's hand.

“Use FlooNet to go to Hogsmeade, find a villager there, give him gold, and have him deliver the letter to Hogwarts. Blaine will understand.”

Narcissa knew what the letter meant. She stared blankly at the letter in her hand, but her husband's deep voice startled her from her reverie.

Lucius rolled up his sleeves, revealing that the Dark Mark on his arm had turned black. He waved his wand, and a black hooded cloak flew out from the shadows and landed in his hand.

"No, don't go!"

Narcissa watched helplessly as her husband hurriedly put on his cloak, gave her a deep look, and strode out of the study. Startled awake, she quickly went forward and grabbed her husband.

Regarding this matter

Lucius turned to look at his devoted wife, and gave a weak smile.

"The Malfoy family had no choice."

Chapter 853 The Truth

2024-04-10

Suddenly, the air was filled with the rustling of cloaks. Every second, wizards would Apparate, appearing behind every tombstone and every cedar tree, wearing hoods and covering their faces, slowly approaching Voldemort. They moved very slowly and cautiously, as if they could not believe their eyes.

When Malfoy, who was among his 'colleagues,' saw Harry Potter bound on the tombstone, he stumbled. He couldn't believe how the Dark Lord had managed to get his hands on Potter, under the double protection of Dumbledore and Blaine.

Then, he noticed the young man next to the Dark Lord glaring at them with furious eyes, and was completely speechless.

One by one, the Death Eaters knelt down, crawling in a line to Voldemort's feet, kissing the hem of his black robes.

Malfoy did the same. As he knelt down, he was filled with bitterness. He finally faced his own heart. He did not want to see the Dark Lord return, but it was already a fait accompli.

An unfamiliar little girl, the Weasleys' youngest son, a Mudblood who survived an attack recently thanks to Blaine's efforts, Barty the Elder—a powerful official with a prestigious reputation, and Igor Karkaroff, the traitor—he's not dead yet, but Malfoy knows it's only temporary. He knows why the Dark Lord is keeping him alive.

Death has already begun to sprout and will grow stronger.

"Owner."

Like everyone else, Malfoy whispered his name and kissed the Dark Lord's robes with utmost deference, but his dignity was weeping.

"Welcome, Death Eaters,"

Voldemort said calmly,

“Thirteen years have passed since our last gathering. Yet you still respond to my call as you did yesterday. That is to say, we are still united under the Black Mark! Is that so?”

He raised his狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face, opened his two narrow nostrils, and sniffed.

“I asked about guilt,” he said. “There was a stench of guilt in the air.”

Voldemort was giving a 'speech' to his supporters, a bunch of cowardly rats who dared not show their faces. Voldemort mentioned a few names: Avery, McNeil, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott—almost all the fathers of the Slytherin students he hated the most. But it didn't matter anymore; Harry didn't care about any of that.

He only wanted to die, but to die a glorious death. He did not yield in the end; he fell on the path of the charge. At least in this way, he did not dishonor his father and mother's reputation, nor did he bring shame to Sirius Black, Remus, Professor Blaine, or Professor Dumbledore. In the afterlife, he could give Hermione and Ron an explanation.

They all died because of him.

It wouldn't be particularly surprising if the Dark Lord immediately dealt with all his followers here, but perhaps the Dark Lord's restored power pleased him. Malfoy could tell that the Dark Lord had no intention of starting a killing spree, which gave him a bit of courage. He wanted to find out some valuable information, which was his bargaining chip in front of Blaine.

The Dark Lord's return couldn't be kept secret, but Malfoy really wanted to know how he had managed to get these people here. Today was the second match of the Triwizard Tournament. He had brought Harry Potter and the other contestants out of Hogwarts right under Dumbledore and Blaine's noses—no matter how powerful the Dark Lord was, it was still an incredible feat.

So when Voldemort, with a hint of mockery, drew everyone's attention to the boy, Malfoy stepped forward tremblingly.

"Master, we yearn to know, we beg you to tell us. How did you accomplish this? How did this miracle return to us?"

“Ah, that’s a long story, Lucius,”

The Dark Lord wasn't angry at himself for trying to pry into his secrets; he was even a little pleased and smug. It was like a successful person reminiscing about his difficult and arduous entrepreneurial journey, how he finally overcame numerous obstacles and stood at the top.

"--Of course you've heard, this boy is my nemesis. That night, he destroyed me, destroyed my magic. But what you don't know is that all of this came from this boy's mother—well, let's just call her Noble—"

Voldemort chuckled softly.

"That noble woman died to save her son, and with her sacrifice she performed a magic spell. An ancient magic spell that granted the boy a kind of protection. I couldn't reach the boy. I knew about the magic spell, but I foolishly ignored it, and as a result, I was punished. Those dark times, oh well, it doesn't matter, I have overcome the obstacles."

Malfoy saw the Dark Lord extend a finger and touch Harry Potter's forehead, and then the boy's face contorted in pain, his eyes bulging out.

Voldemort chuckled softly and took his finger back.

Malfoy listened intently to Voldemort's account, and when he heard Voldemort say that the spell he shot at Harry had bounced back and struck him, and that he hadn't died because of his past attempts to conquer death, Malfoy's heart trembled, and panic surged within him.

That notebook. Maybe it really was that thing. He knew the Dark Lord's most crucial secret, but he destroyed it. If the Dark Lord knew that his means of ensuring his immortality had failed, he wouldn't forgive the Malfoy family. Despairing thoughts lingered in his mind as he heard Voldemort begin to say what he most wanted to know.

"Now look how kind fate is to Voldemort."

Voldemort said with emotion,

"Just when I was about to give up hope, a lady found me. Oh, she wasn't one of our companions. She was unknown before, but now you all know her name."

Harry stopped struggling. He knew who Voldemort was talking about; he had seen her and Voldemort together in his dream, killing an old Muggle.

"Vitia Kriona".

After Voldemort uttered the name, the Death Eaters who had formed a circle stirred for a moment. More than one of them realized who the hideous monster that had appeared at the end of last year's Quidditch World Cup final was.

"This defiant lady has no connection with me, but she faces the same situation as us. She and her people suffer unfair oppression from Muggles, from those who claim to be righteous. For centuries, they have endured this humiliation and bravely resisted."

This Lady Vitia Kriona, following the revelation of her ancestors, came to the forest where I dwell. She offered me a treasure lost in history, and we made a pact with that treasure as our witness. She helped me regain my physical body, and I helped them take revenge on those who had harmed them. Ah, with her help, everything went much better afterward.

Ms. Creona provided me with a potion that was completely different from wizarding potions, which helped me out of my weak and lost state. She also brought me Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry of Magic.

Bertha Jorkins got into trouble, and Miss Creona helped her out of it. Thanks to Jorkins, she brought me news of the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts and knows a loyal Death Eater. He'll be happy to help me if I can get in touch with him. Yes, that's right, Barty.

Barty Crouch Jr. puffed out his chest, as if enjoying supreme glory.

"--Of course, of course, you've heard that Bati has been arrested and died in Azkaban. But the actual situation is more complicated; he survived, with the 'help' of his famous father."

Voldemort chuckled softly, but Barty Jr. looked at Barty Jr. lying on the ground with disgust.

Voldemort said a lot, mentioning his plans and the Quidditch final night match last year. Because of that match, he decided to change his plans. He originally intended to make Harry Potter a champion and use the Portkey to replace the Triwizard Tournament trophy to get Harry Potter out of Hogwarts.

But that duel would make Dumbledore wary and keep a close eye on Harry Potter. Under such circumstances, if he were to push Harry to become a warrior, Dumbledore would immediately realize what was going on.

Cleopatra recommended Hermione, having witnessed Hermione's desperate protection of Harry in the box, which meant there was something to be done.

Harry looked ashen-faced; the truth was finally out.

It was all because of him. Hermione became a hero because of him, and so many people died because of him as well.

Chapter 854 Karkaroff Returns to Nature